‘IYKYK’ and Other Social Media Lingo Explained
“Weetbix at night, just hits different.”
Have you ever come across an acronym, word or phrase like this on social media that seems totally out of context, but everyone else seems to get it? Like you’re missing out on an inside joke?
There’s nothing worse than feeling out of the loop, but don’t fret – we’re here to translate for you!
We think it’s important that businesses have an understanding of social media lingo so you can ensure you’re staying relevant while maintaining your brand voice. Think about it; when you’re around friends, family and people you feel comfortable with, do you speak in a more formal or conversational tone?
Applying this same logic to your social media posts can help build a more personal connection with your followers, encouraging engagement and brand loyalty.
To help simplify things, we’re going to split our guide into two: professional social media lingo (internal communications or things you might hear from your marketing agency) and conversational social media lingo (things you might read on social media).
Professional Social Media Lingo
Lingo | Translation |
SMM | Social Media Management or Social Media Marketing, depending on the context. |
UGC | User Generated Content is content created by your clients or followers eg. a tagged photo on Instagram. |
SMO | Social Media Optimisation is the process of applying expertise and proven strategy to optimise social media performance. |
SEO | Search Engine Optimisation is the process of optimising your content to appear higher in a list of search results. |
CTA | Call To Action is a direct request for your followers to take action eg. click the link, phone or send an email. |
CTR | Click Through Rate is the percentage of people who clicked on your ad after viewing it. |
CPC | Cost Per Click is how much you have paid for each individual click on your ad. |
ROI | Return On Investment is the measurable efficiency or profitability of a campaign. |
Conversational Social Media Lingo
Lingo | Translation |
DM or PM | Direct Message or Private Message means to send a message via social media. |
RT | Retweet means to share a Tweet (a type of post) on Twitter. |
AMA | Ask Me Anything! Often used on social media to prompt followers to ask questions. |
BTS | Behind The Scenes |
FOMO | Fear Of Missing Out refers to the fear or apprehension that you are missing out on a thing or experience that others are having. |
FYI | For Your Information is usually used before educating or providing information. |
HMU | Hit Me Up! Is a lighthearted way to ask people to get in touch. |
IMO | In My Opinion |
OP | Original Poster refers to the person who is the original owner or creator of a piece of content. |
OG | OG simply stands for Original. ‘Our OG breakfast bagel is back on the menu!’ |
IRL | In Real Life |
SMH | Shaking My Head can be used when in disbelief or dismay. |
TBH | To Be Honest |
WFH | Work From Home became popular during covid, referring to at home workplaces. |
IYKYK | If You Know, You Know refers to content that is understood by an exclusive group of people and the context doesn’t need explanation. |
Fit | Fit is short for Outfit. ‘Love the fit today!’ |
‘Hits Different’ | When something Hits Different, it means it is unique or significantly better than the usual way. ‘Sunset walks just hit different.’ |
‘It’s the _ for me’ | This phrase refers to a specific characteristic or behaviour that stands out. ‘It’s the 80’s hairdo for me.’ |
Sus | Sus refers to something being suspect or suspicious. It can also refer to when you are taking a look at something. ‘I’ll sus the guest list.’ |
Remember, just because you can use it, doesn’t always mean you should use it. The lingo you use on social media should still align with your brand voice and target audience.
If you’re not quite sure when it’s appropriate to use certain lingo, we can help! Book in a professional social media profile review where our experts will provide recommendations to optimise your profiles and posts.